Florida Court Strikes Down Law that Prohibited Law Abiding People from Carrying Guns in Public for Self-Defense, "the right to bear arms in public necessarily includes the right to do so openly"

Florida is one of just four states that generally prohibit people from openly carrying firearms in public. That law, a Florida appeals court ruled on Wednesday, is inconsistent with the Second Amendment.

"The Constitution protects the right to carry arms openly for self-defense," Judge Stephanie Ray writes in a unanimous opinion from the First District Court of Appeal. "Florida's Open Carry Ban cannot be reconciled with that guarantee."

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier welcomed the decision. "Florida's 1st District Court of Appeals just ruled that Florida's open carry ban is no longer constitutionally enforceable statewide," he wrote on X. "Our office fully supports the Court's decision. This is a big win for the Second Amendment rights of Floridians."

The case, McDaniels v. Florida, involves an activist who sought to test Florida's ban by inviting his own arrest. In July 2022, Ray notes, Stanley Victor McDaniels "stood at a major intersection in downtown Pensacola," holding a copy of the U.S. Constitution and waving at passing cars. He "had a loaded handgun tucked inside his pants using an inside-the-waistband holster. The holstered firearm was visible to anyone who passed by, but McDaniels was not threatening anyone. He had also set up a camera on a tripod to record his activity."

When police questioned him, McDaniels explained that he planned a constitutional challenge to Section 790.053 of the Florida Statutes. That provision, enacted in 1987, says "it is unlawful for any person to openly carry on or about his or her person any firearm." Violating the prohibition is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.